Impression apparatus.



L. HUFFMAN.

' -IMPRESSION APPARATUS.. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1910. RENEWED JUNE 23. 1911.

1,01 8,6 1 7. Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

4 SHEETS-QHEBT 1.

A T'I'ORN IE Y5 L. HUFFMAN.

IMPRESSION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22 1910. RENEWED JUNE 23.1011.

1,018,617. Patented, Feb. 27, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L. HUFFMAN.

IMPRESSION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 11116.22, 1910. RENEWED JUNE 23,1911.

1,01 8,6 1 7. Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I llllllllilllllllllll m? WITNESSES: 5% IN VEN TOR.

7441 11111111 m 8 y & 7m7 gc 6- M 11 TTORNEYS L. HUFFMAN.

IMPRESSION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION TILED AUG. 22, 1910. RENEWED JUNE 23.1911.

1,018,617, Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 1 "NV/AR WITNESSES: p INVENTOR. 7; Z BY Oiirww LOUIS HUFFMAN, OF TORONTO. ONTARIO, CANADA.

IMPRESSION APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

Application filed August 22, 1910, Serial No. 578,387. Renewed Jane 23. 1911. Serial No. 635,022.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS I-Ittrrnrvx, of the city of Toronto, in the Province of ()ntario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Impression .\pparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus such as disclosed in my prior UnitedStates Patents No. 938,381 of Oct. 26, 1909. and No. D-itLQQ-l of Jan. 11, 1910, in which I described apparatus which rendered it possible, taking a cylinder printing press as a concrete example, to printon a continuous web of paper impressions at. intervals other than those represented by the circumference of the cylinder or cylinders, or aliquot parts thereof. This result was obtained by employing segi'nental printing means driven at a uniform speed during the prii'iting part of .each rotation and at a ditl'crcnt speed during the non printing part of each rotation. As the printing and ni'nnprinting parts of each rotation took place in the same length of time, one segmental printing means left blanks on the paper which were filled in by a second segmental printing means similarly driven.

It evident that, when a segment is not printing, its speed might be slower or faster than when it isprintiug and it is the object of the present invention to devise-improved driving mechanism with which both a retardation and an acceleration may be obtained in one machine and the range of sizes, which may be conveniently printed, thus increased.

I attain my object by the constructions hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which-- Figure 1 is side elevation of the ap paratus. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section ot' the same on the line X, Y, in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of part ofthe machine showing part of the gearing for rotating the cam which controls the drive for the printing cylinders. Fig. 5 a face view of the cam and the eccentric for differentiating the speed of the printing cylini'lers. Fig. (3 is -a detail in side elevation showing particularly the dillereutiating gear and the shitt able mechanism which determines the actuation of the printing means at normal or ditferentiated speed. Fig. 7 is a detail in side elevation showing particularly the eccentric for producing ditl'erentiated speed. Fig. 8 is a front elevation partly in section, of the paper adjusting means. Fig. 9 is a plan view of part of the shifting means of the shittable pinion of the speed changing mechanism. Fig. 10 a front elevation of the driving mechanism. Fig. 11 is a section on the line a 7) in Fig. 9.

jl. the frame of the machine suitably shapedto support the dillerent parts. On the frame are suitably jourualed two printing cylinders 2 and 3. A single impression cylinder 4; is journaled in a suitable position to cooperate with both the printing cylindcrr 9 and 3.

.i is the driving shaft. This shaft is providcd with a gear wheel (3 driving by means oi the gear train 7 the feed rollers 8. The paper 9 passes between two suitably journaled guide rollers 10 geared together by the gearing ll, thence between the printing cylinder 3 and the impression cylinder 4, thence over a roller 12 the purpose of which will hereinafter appear, thence between the printing cylinder 2 and the impression cylinder a, thence around the guide rollers 13 and around and between the feed rollers 8. As long, therefore, as the shaft 5 is run at constant speed the feed of the paper will be uniform.

As set out in the preamble to the specification it is my object to drive each of the printing cylimlers 9 and 3 at a diil'erent speed during a portion of each rotation, which differentiated speed may be either a. retardation or an acceleration of the normal speed. This means that the printing cylinders cannot be driven from gearing secured to the drivingshaft To secure this variable rotary motion of the printing cylinders I provide the gearing which I will now describe and which periodically accelerates or retards the speed rotation of the cylinders according to its setting.

On the driving shaft there is loosely mounted a driving gear wheel lel driving through the medium of the gear train 15 the impression cylinder 4. The impression cylinder by means of the gear train 16 actuates the printing cylinders 2 and It will be noted that the wheel 17 ot the gear train 17 is loose on the spindle 18 of the impression roller and that the wheel 19 of the ge train 16 is movable longitudinally on t e spindle butis held from rotating by means of the pin 20 fitting a notch in the hub of the wheel. A nut 21 screwed on to the end of the spindles provides means whereby the 1 with the rest of the mechanism and rotarily I ad usted to cause the impressions to occur in synchronism with the setting of the drive.

On the driving shaft is loosely mounted a driven gear wheel 22 connected through the medium of its hub 23 with the gear wheel 14. See Fig. 8.

Fast relative to the shaft and located between the gears 14 and 22 is a disk 24. car ying the normal-speed gear wheel 25. On the other side of the gearwheel 22 is located the differentiating gear' wheel 26 loose on the shaft 5. tiating gear wheel 26 is the disk 27 rotating with the shaft and preferably connected witl the disk 24: by the stay bolts 28, thus givi g the disk 2% and gear 25 their driving conn ction with the shaft.

The guide 29 is secured to the disk 2i and on this guide a pinion 30 is adapted to slide, its teeth being of sufficient width to engage at one time the teeth of either the driven gear 22 and the normal speed gear 25 or the te th of the driven gear wheel and the differentiating gear wheel 26. It is evident in the former case that the-driven gear 22 will b'e rotated at the same speed as the shaft 5 ant in the latter case at the same speed as the differentiating gear whatever that may /be.

B'fore describing the means for automa' cally moving the pinion 30 it will be ne ssary to describe the means for actuat' g the ditfe'rentiating gear wheel 26.

/On the shaft there is loosely carried the disk 81. This disk carries an adjustable ccentric 32. To enable the eccentric to be .djusted 1 form its bearing 33 on a slide 34:

adjustable in the guideway 35 by means of the adjusting screw 36 the head of which 15 accessible through the rim of the disk. An index finger 37 is secured to the slide 34, extends through a slot 38 in the disk and serves to indicate the adjustment of the (20-- centric. A slot 39 must be provided in the slide 3% and bearing 33 for the passage of the shaft 5. This eccentric 32- is pivotally connected with the rock arm l0 secured to a spindle all journaled in the disk 27 and having secured to its other end. a segmental rack l2 meshing with the differentiatin;-

gear wheel 26. Bv the rotation of the disk 27 which rotates with the shaft 5 the dif ferentiating gear wheel will rotate with the shaft. It is evident however that by rocking the rack 42 in one direction that this speed may be accelerated and that by rockbe clamped together E Beside this differening the rack in the opposite direction this plished by the action of the eccentric 32 the direction of motion of the rack and consevquently the acceleration or retardation of the motion of the differentiating gear wheel depends on whether the pinion 30 is in mesh with the differentiating gear when the rack is rocking forward or when it is rocking backward. This disk is driven in the following manner. A gear wheel 13 is secured thereto. This gear wheel meshes with a pinion 4L4: fast on the spindle 4:5 jou'rnaled in the frame of the machine. The other end of this spindle is provided with a pinion 46 meshing with the intermediate gear wheel .47 journaled on the disk 48 rotatable about the shaft 5 and adapted to be clamped in place by the clamping screw 49 which preferably also'forms the bearing for the intermediate gear 47 and has a head 76 working in a slot 77 in the frame.

Secured to the shaft 5 is a pinion 50 meshing with the intermediate gear. By this arrange-merit of gearing the disk 31 is rotated in the opposite direction to the shaft 5 and consequently the segmental rack 42 is actuated to periodically accelerate the speed of the differentiating gear wheel 26; Row the pinion 30 must be brought into engage ment with the driven gear wheel 22 and the dilferentiating gear wheel 26 at such times as the eccentric starts to move the segmental rack i2 to accelerate the diflerentiating gear wheel and the pinion 3O 1nust be brought into mesh with the driven gear wheel 22 and the normal speed gear 25 as soon as acceleration ceases. To effect this movement I pro vide the following mechanism: 51 is a rack adapted to slide in the guideway carried by the disk 27. Projecting from the rack is a pin engaging thee-am 53 formed on the disk 31. The rack 51 meshes with the pinions 51- on the spindles 55 journaled in the guideway 75. These spindles have loose on their outer .ends the pinions 56. each pinion provided with a notch in its outer face adapted to engage the pin 57 on the spindle. The spindles are longitudinally movable in the guideway 75 and at their other ends are provided with annular grooves 59. On the guidcway is carried a plate (30 provided with a pin and'slotconnection (31 so that it may be adjusted to and from the spindles 55 to engage either the groove 58 or 53). It is evident that by adjusting the spindles 55 lengthwise they may be held as adjusted. by means of the plate (i0. with either one or the other in driving connection with its pinion .36. These pinions 5G cngagt'z opposite sides of the double rack 02 on which the pinion 30 is journaled and which is adapted to slip over the guide pin 29 as shown particularly in Fig. 3. The purpose of this method of 1110\Vl11g' the pinion 30 will shortly appear. l spindle 415 by means of a nut (36. By loosen- Forthe present, suttice it to say that the outer pinion 56 is in clutch with its spindle when the mechanism set as shown in the drawings and the disk 31 is rotating in the opposite direction to the shaft The pinion 30 is thus alternately moved back and forth by the engagement of the pin 52 with the cam It will now be in place to explain the ohject of rotating the disk 31 carrying the eccentric and cam 53. It. will be unt'lerstood that the printing and non-printing parts of each rotation of the printed cylinder must take place in equal periods of time, and as the speeds are not the same dining printing and non-printing the revolutions of the printing cylinders do not correspond to the revolutions of the drive shaft. Consequently if the .difl'erentiating gear wheel be accelerated at equal periods of time relative to the rotation of the drive shaft the desired result of having the acceleration occur at equal intervals relative to the rotation of the printing, cylinders could not be attained. (onsequently the disk 3]. cannot be held sta ionary butmust be moved backward relative to the rotation of the drive shaft to cause acceleration'to take place a little earlier relative to each rotation of the drive shaft, if the differentiating gear wheel is to be given an accelerated movement.

The gearing between the drive shaft and disk 31 must be properly proportioned and the eccentric suitably adjusted to cause the pinion 3O to'shit't exactly when the speed the driven gear wheel to be changed from normal to differentiated and vice versa.

Now the utility of the machine depends on its ability to turn out work of ditl'erent lengths without waste of paper, consequently the mechanism must be adjustable. If the arc during which printing takes place is short the arc during which acceleration takes place must be long. A large arc of acceleration is obtained by increasing the eccentricity of the eccentric 3'2 and as this increases the disproportion between the number of rotations of the drive shaft and the printing cylinders the gearing bet-ween the drive shaft and the disk 31 must be changed to move the cam backward sutliciently to cause the acceleration to occur each time at the proper place. This change of gearing may be readily obtained by removing the pinion lo and replacing it with another of the necessarv size to produce the desired effect. The.

disk 48 must of course be adjusted to cause th intermmliate gear 47 toproperly mesh with the larger pinion at Any means may be provided for making the pinion to removable. l show. however. the pinion 4-6 as being provided with a notch 63 adapted to engage a pin (341- on. the spindle 45. A slotted collar is held in place on the end of the mg the nut the collar may be removedand,

the pinion -l-(i slipped oil for changin The impressions of the cylinders as the machine is arrai'iged take place simultaneously. It follows. however. from the tact that as the arc through which the printing movement of each printing cylinder takes place may be varied and as the accelerated motion takes place in the same space of time as the normal motion ot. rotation, that. when the accelerated arc is large and the printing are small. smaller printing plates may be (I'HPlQYC'd and that the impression of each printing cylinder will be shorter in length and follow at shorter intervals. (.onsequcntly in order that the second printing cylinder may accurately fillv in the gaps left by the other printing cylinder it is necessary that there shall be more or less paper between the two printing cylinders according to the adjustment" of the machine. I make this adjustment by causing the paper to tollow a longer or shorter path as may be necessary. For this purpose I provide stationary guide rollers (J one on each side of the. roller 12. The roller 12 is journaled in the slides (38 movable in the guides 69. Each slide formed. as a racli and these. racks are engaged by the pinions fast on the spindle 71 journaled on the frame of thc n'iachinc and provided with a hand wheel A clamping nut T? is'scrmved on the end of the spindle T1 and engages the frame to hold the slides as adjusted.

The object in using a retarded speed during the non-printing part of each revolution of the machine is to enable me'to employ printing segments of over 180 degrees of arc. I arrange the nmchine to obtain this differentiated speed by swinging the disk 48 to withdraw the intermediate gear 47 from ongagement with the pinion -16. On the disk 46 is journaled a second intermediate Q'ear wheel 7 meshing with the gear wheel 47 and by swinging the disk around until this sec ond intermediate gear meshes with the pin ion 46 a movement of the cam disk :51 in the same direction as the shaft 5 is obtained. The pinion 30 is thus brought into mesh with the ditl'evcntiating gear wheel 26 when the segment -12 is rocking backward and a retardation of its motion is obtained. As the number of revolutions of the printing cylinders is now less than the revolutions of the drive shaft retardations must take place at intervals of time greater than represented by revolutions of the shaft and'thc forward rotation of the cam 53 carried by the cam disk 31 causes the meshing of the pinion 30 with the driven gear 522 and the ditterentiatiinr gear 26 to occur a little later each revolution of the drive shaft. Of course. as the eccentric moves with the disk 31 the retarding movement of the segmental rack 42 is also properly timed. By

.the adjustment of the machine different engagement'with its pinion since the shifting 'movement'nmst take place just when the segmental rack 42 is about toxcommence its backward -movement and the inner pinion 56 has the proper. movement to effect this.

The mechanism described I find effectively accomplishes the object of my invention. The printing cylinders rotate at a uniform speed during the printing part of each rotation and conseqpently they cooperate satis-,

factorily with the paper which can only successfully be fed at a uniform rate of speed.

With my mechanism the speed of the printing cylinders during the printing remains the-same no matter what the adjustment of the machine may be within its limits, so

that there is no necessity to provide any means of varying the rate of feed of the paper and the output of the machine in superficial area of printedservice will remain substantially the same at all adjustments. This is something not heretofore accomplished as far as I am aware; The impression cylinder also being geared to the printing cylinder revolves synchronously therewith and thus the same par of an impression cylinder will always cooperate with a given part of one of the printing segments. This is important in printing as it is usually necessary to pad certain portions of the impression rollers to produce uniform imprints.

It will be understood that instead of stereotypes or electrotypes that perforating and dividing or' other impression features may be employed.

It must also be understood that I use the term gear, when applied to the wheels 22, 25 and 26 in its broadest sense. These need'only be toothed as far as called for by their relationship to the pinion 30 and natn rally equivalent constructions might be substituted therefor.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a' .rotary printing press provided with-rotatable printing means; means for imparting a variable rotary motion to the printing means comprising a driving shaft: a normal-speed gear rotating with said shaft; a driven gear having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear; means for alter nately driving the driven gear from the normal speed gear and from the differentiating gear at equal intervals of time; and means for driving the. differentiating gear means; gearing between the shaft with either oreen at a different speed-to the drive shaftv when.

the driven gear is actuated from said difien entiating gear.

2. In a rotary printing press provided with rotatable printing means; means for imparting a variable rotary motion to the printing means comprising a driving shaft;

a normal-speed gear rotating with said shaft; a driven gear having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear; means for alternately driving the driven gear from the normal speed gear and from the differentiating gear at equal intervals of time; and means for driving the differentiating gear at a difi'erent speed to thedrive shaft when the driven gear is actuated from said differentiating gear comprising an eccentric actuated from the shaft; a rack engaging the differentiating gear, and driving connections between the eccentric and the rack.

3. In a rotary printing press provided with rotatable printing means; means for imparting a variable rotary motion to the printing means comprising a driving shaft; a normal-speed gear rotating with said shaft; a driven gear having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear; shiftable means for giving the driven gear a driving connection with either .the normal-speed gear or the differentiating gear; shifting. means for moving said shiftable means; a cam loose on the shaft adapted to actuate said shifting and the cam adapted to rotate the cam to cause the shifting means to operate at equal intervals of time; and means for driving the differentiating gear ata different speed to the shaft at such times as it is in driving connection with the driven gear.

4. In a rotary printing press provided with rotatable printing means, means for imparting a variable rotary motion to the printing means comprising a. normal-speed gear rotating with said shaft; a driven gear having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear; shiftable means for giving the driven gear a driving connection the normal-speed gear or the differentiating gear; shifting moving said shiftable means; a cam loose on they shaftadapted to actuate said shifting means. gearing between the shaft and the cam adapted to rotate shifting means to operate at equal intervals of time-(and means for driving the differentiating gear at a different speed to the shaft at such time as it is in driving connection with the driven gear, comprising an eccentric rotating with the cam, a rack ena driving shaft means for the cam to cause the connections between the eccentric and the rack.

5. In a rotary printing press rotary printing means forming a segment of a cylinder in combination with means for driving said printing means at auniform speed during the printing part of each rotation and at a different speed during the non-printing part of each rotation; and means for making the differentiated speed either an acceleration or a retardationpf the printing-speed, at the will of the operator. "1 i 6. In a rotary printing press provided with rotatable printing means, means for imparting a variable rotary motion to the printing means comprising a driving shaft; a normal-speed gear carried by and rotating with said shaft; a driven gear loose on said shaft and having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear loose on said shaft; shiftable means for giving said gear an operative engagement with either the normal-speed gear or the differentiating gear; a cam loose on the shaft adapted to actuate said shiftable means;gearing between the shaft and the cam adapted to rotate the cam to cause the shifting means to operate at equal intervals of time; an eccentric rotating with said cam; and means whereby the eccentric actuates th'e differentiating gear.

7. In a rotary printing press provided with rotatable printing means means for.

imparting a variable rotary motion to the printing means comprising a driving shaft; a"normal-speed gear rotating with said shaft; a driven gear having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear; shiftable means for giving the driven gear 'a driving connection with either the normal-speed gear or the differentiating gear; shifting means for moving said shiftable means; at am loose on the shaft adapted to actuate said shifting means; gearing between the shaftand the cam adapted to rotate the cam to cause the shifting means to operate at equal intervals of time; means for varying the said gearing to rotate the cam at different speeds; and means for driving the differentiating gear at a different speed to the shaft at such times as it is in driving connection with the driven gear comprising an eccentric rotating with the cam, means for varying the eccentricity of the eccentric, a rack engaging the differentiating gear, and driving connections between the eccentric and the rack.

8. In a rotary printing press provided with rotatable printing means, means for imparting a variable rotary motion to the printing means, comprising a driving shaft; a normal-speed gear'carried by and rotating with said shaft; a driven gear loose on said shaft and having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear loose on said shaft; shiftable means for giving said driven gear an operative engagement with either the normal-speed gear or the differentiating gear; a cam loose on the shaft adapted to actuate said shiftable means; earing between the shaft and the cam adapted to rotate the cam to cause the shifting means to operate at equal intervals of time; means for varying the said gearing to rotate the cam at different speeds; an eccentric'rotating with said cam; means for varying the eccentricity of the eccentric; and means whereby the eccentric actuates the differentiating gear.

9. In a rotary printing press provided with rotatable printing means, means for impart-ing a variable rotary motion to the printing means comprising a driving shaft; a normal-speed gear carried by and rotating with said shaft; a driven gear loose on said shaft and having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear loose on said shaft; shiftable means rotating with the shaft for giving said driven gear an operative engagementwith either the normal-speed gear or the differentiating gear; a cam loose on the shaft adapted to actuate said shiftable means; gearing between the shaftand the cam adapted to rotate the cam to cause the shifting means to operate at equal intervals of time; means for varying the said gearing to rotate the cam at different speeds in either direction; an eccentric rotating with said cam; means for varying the eccentricity of the eccentric; and means whereby the eccentric actuates the differentiating gear.

10. In a rotary printing press provided .with rotatable printing means; means for imparting a variable rotary motion to the printing means comprising a driving shaft; a normal-speed gear rotating with said shaft; a driven gear having a driving connection with the rotatable printing means; a differentiating gear; means for alternately driving the driven gear from the normal speed gear and from the differentiating gear at equal intervals of time; means for driving the differentiating gear at a different speed to the drive shaft when the driven gear is actuated from said differentiating gear; means for lengthening and shortening the aforesaid intervals of time relative to the rotations of the driving shaft; and means for correspondingly varying the driving speed of the differentiating gear.

Toronto, this 16th day of August, 1910.

v LOUIS HUFFMAN. Signed in the presence of- J. Emv. MAYBEE,

-E.- P. HALL. 

